2003 Volvo S40 review from North America

So, I decided to replace my 1996 VW Golf with a new car.

I had previously owned a 2000 V40, and after numerous trips to the dealer for maintenance, I swore I would never buy another Volvo. Of course, after owning a beat up old VW, I was able to pay off the remainder of the balance on the V40 after I sold it, but I found myself missing the comfort and safe feeling of the Volvo.

I also sold the V40 because I was moving to Florida, and it was a dark colored car with black leather interior. So, when my VW finally started to kick the bucket, I went car shopping.

I found a dealer who offered me a ridiculous amount for my car, and a 3 year bumper to bumper warranty for the 2003 S40; all for $13000. Since the Blue Book was around $15000, I figured I was getting a great deal.

The leather seats are awesome; the knobs for the radio and climate control are not. The knobs tend to wear real bad, and even have stickiness to them.

My daughter's car seat fits great in the back seat, and clips right in to the anchor points, but if I was any taller than 5'08, I would have a hell of time trying to get my seat-back from bumping into her car seat.

I have seen many posts about the transmission on here. My transmission is odd. Sometimes when I am driving down the road, the RPMS suddenly jump up as the engine races up on its own. I think this is because of the turbo. When I owned my V40, I would step on the gas and you could feel the car move. Well, it's almost the same idea, except I didn't step any harder on the gas. Of course, after a fraction of a second, the car seems to take note of the mistake and slows the engine down. I have a feeling I will need a new transmission at some point. Too bad I couldn't get a manual transmission version of this car.

Also, the sound system really sucks in this car. I have wanted to replace the radio, but it is not the normal sized radio, but the larger one instead. There is no real bass or decent sound coming from the radio at all. Half the stations I get have a weird static noise to them, even though the radio station is only across the bridge.

The gas tank is only 10gal or so, which is nice, however I am only getting about 22mpg. My VW got 30mpg, which was nice, but it was also a 5 speed.

One thing I love about this car is the brakes. The disk brakes work so well, that I don't care that I occasionally find brake dust on my rims. When I drive my wife's Honda, I can definitely tell the difference, and I would never feel as though I would have to ditch to the median on the right if the car in front of me were to brake suddenly.

Well that is all I have to really say about this car for now. Hopefully I don’t have too many future issues with the S40, although who knows now that I've said that...